Sunday, July 13, 2014

Lucky Dip is an open art competition that takes place out in the open. 20 shortlisted artists have been randomly allocated a public space in Camberwell through a lucky dip process. I was allocated The Lettsom Estate as part of Camberwell Arts Festival 20th Anniversary Lucky Dip

The theme of The Chutney Preserves this year is the number 8, as it had been running for 8 years now. So all the artists involved will be making artwork / sideshows to represent the 8th wonder of the world… in Camberwell

I will be presenting 'The Hermits Cave'
Sarah will be presenting the legendary Hermit who lived in the cave and will invite you to on this rare occassion take your photo with a Hermit. A once in a lifetime opportunity!

What would you chose to represent Camberwell as the Eighth Wonder of the World? Would you vote for the Camberwell Beauty, Lettsom Gardens, the Hermits cave?! The Chutney Artists have created wondrous interactive exhibits, each representing a ‘Wonder of Camberwell’. They will be displayed upon Camberwell Green for your entertainment, pleasure and displeasure. Come all ye folks of SE5 and the world; come to Camberwell Green on the 22nd June and vote for your favourite 'Wonder of Camberwell'

Lucky Dip is an open art competition that takes place out in the open. 20 shortlisted artists have been randomly allocated a public space in Camberwell through a lucky dip process. I was allocated The Lettsom Estate as part of Camberwell Arts Festival 20th Anniversary Lucky Dip

The Lettsom Estate was built in the early 1970s on land formerly owned by John Coakley Lettsom. As part of the Lucky Dip for Camberwell Arts Fesival on Sunday the 15th June I organised a community gardening day on the Estate.

As the estate itself is built on the ground formerly owned by the philanthropist and herbalist John Coakly Lettsom the plan was to tie in Letsom's love of naturalism by making a small garden around the playground in the middle of Letsome estate, next to the estate office.

For the 20th anniversary of Camberwell Arts Festival it was my aim to leave something behind as a reminder of a day enjoyed by the tenants and residents of Lettsom Estate and something that can be enjoyed after the festival has finished too.

The garden was planted on Saturday 15th of June and the Lucky Dip art trail runs until the 22nd June 2014. As my project is a garden it will be there as a permanent reminder of the Gardening Day. If you do visit please do water the plants.

Here is the address of the garden:
Lettsom Estate
Playground next to the estate office
Camberwell
London, SE5 8PHmap

Friday, May 16, 2014

I will be doing a Music Hall Marie Lloyd singalong at Full Stop cafe on Sunday which will be part of an evening of art and music duos with Jude Cowan Montague.
Do come along if you would like to have a good old fashioned Marie Lloyd style knees up.

Sunday, March 23, 2014

This art show is exhibited opposite FASHION IS FAKE art show. Both art shows exploiting the effects of imperialism and capitalism. Stop the war art show visually exposes inherent depiction of past and present war, through artwork by 47 artists from various backgrounds. Using mediums such as: photography, print, drawing, sculptor, sound, painting, video and photoshop.

Friday, March 21, 2014

My work for Ghost at Camberwell Film Festival is inspired by the story "The Woman of the Snow" from the film Kwaidan. The story depicts the folkloric character of Yuki-onna, a ghostly female figure who inhabits snowy regions. The set design for this story in the film is filled with haunting images of the woman's eyes looking out from the snowy sky.
I have created snowflakes (or Sarah Doyle Doylies) inspired by these haunting set designs that incorporate this image

Here is some more information about Yuki-onna:
Yuki-onna appears on snowy nights as a tall, beautiful woman with long black hair and blue lips. Her inhumanly pale or even transparent skin makes her blend into the snowy landscape. She sometimes wears a white kimono, but other legends describe her as nude, with only her face and hair standing out against the snow. Despite her inhuman beauty, her eyes can strike terror into mortals. She floats across the snow, leaving no footprints (in fact, some tales say she has no feet, a feature of many Japanese ghosts), and she can transform into a cloud of mist or snow if threatened.

GHost is hosting two nights of classic ghost films at St Giles Church Camberwell as part of Camberwell Free Film Festival
These are FREE events. No tickets required, arrive early to get the best seats and enjoy the accompanying installation artworks and performances before the feature film commences.

The Innocents (Dir: Jack Clayton, 1961, UK/US, Cert 12A, 100 mins) is a classic British supernatural gothic horror film directed and produced by Jack Clayton. Starring Deborah Kerr in a career-best performance the film achieves its effects through lighting, music and direction rather than conventional shocks.
Miss Giddens (Deborah Kerr) applies for a job as a governess. It is to be her first position, but the wealthy bachelor interviewing her (Michael Redgrave) is unconcerned with her lack of experience. He values his freedom to travel and socialise and unabashedly confesses that he has “no room, mentally or emotionally” for his orphaned niece and nephew, who were left in his care as infants and live at his country estate. However, Miss Giddens slowly starts to convince herself that the house, grounds and two children in her care are haunted. The Innocents is based on the Henry James ghost story novella The Turn of the Screw (1898).

Kwaidan (Masaki Kobayashi, 1965, 185 minutes) features dreamlike ghost tales adapted from Lafcadio Hearn’s collections of Japanese folk stories of the same name. This lavish, widescreen production drew extensively on director Kobayashi’s own training as a student of painting and fine arts. Toru Takemitsu’s innovative score compliments the extraordinary and beautiful visuals. This film is rarely screened – don’t miss it!
The film consists of four separate and unrelated stories. The Black Hair, Hoichi The Earless, In a Cup of Tea and The Woman of The Snow. We encourage you to stay and watch all four stories!

Thursday, February 27, 2014

I will be once again sharing my Magpies at the Mad March Chutney Tea Party. These are my empty medieval style pie crusts (or coffins as they were known). As in the nursery rhyme 'Sing a Song of Sixpence' when the pie was filled with live blackbirds. My "Mag Pies" won't be filled with birds but with secrets of magpies.

The Magpie if a much maligned bird, as the BBC webpage on birds puts it Magpies are so despised in the UK that they "would probably have an Asbo slapped on them if they were teenagers."

However they are the most intelligent of birds and only seem to have this bad reputation in the UK, as in the rest of the world the magpie is often a symbol of good fortune.

Alice: “ I'm afraid so. You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are.”

(Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll)

“Nature will come through the claws, and the hound will follow the hare”

(proverb, anaon)

The Chutney Preserves invite you to a Mad March Chutney Tea Party at the Hundred Year Gallery. Join us around the tea table to celebrate mad un-bounded spring energy as it rises up from the soil below the city streets. The Hundred Years Gallery Café will be open for tea and cakes and you may bring these to the Chutney tea-table to consume in sacrifice to the Chutney gods. The Chutney Preserves will be offering you their usual fare of joyous double dealing performances and you may watch or join in as the fancy takes you.

The Chutney Preserves is a multifaceted, interactive live art event, which draws on the spirit of celebratory public assembly dating back to prehistory. Appearing in the guise of a fete, country fair or rarey sideshow, and in this instance a tea party, it is an ‘organic’ public art work, presenting the public with a humorous and thought provoking display of temporary art works, interactive activities and marionettes.’

Initiated in 2005, artists’ collective Chutney Preserves have worked with over 100 artists and participated in six festivals and events including: Supernormal in Oxfordshire, Lambeth Country Show in Brockwell Park and Camberwell Arts Festival on Camberwell Green.